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For her follow-up to The Babadook (NZIFF14), Aussie auteur Jennifer Kent pivots to an entirely different brand of horror. A bleak, bloody revenge Western, her sophomore effort The Nightingale takes a cold, hard stare at her country’s history of colonial violence – and the results are genuinely chilling.

Set in Tasmania 1825, the story follows Clare (Aisling Franciosi), a convicted felon whose freedom hinges entirely on the whims of a sadistic British lieutenant (Sam Claflin). After he instigates an act of sickening cruelty, Clare pursues him into the wilderness, hellbent on revenge and aided only by a weary Aboriginal tracker (Baykali Ganambarr), who has more in common with Clare than she might think.

What follows is a stark odyssey through Australia’s heart of darkness, in which unspeakable crimes against the marginalised were perpetuated. But beneath the non-stop barrage of atrocities is a timely cry for compassion, a recognition that violence against individuals cannot unpick the oppression woven into the very fabric of our civilisation. It contains no easy answers for how to reckon with such evils, but its uncompromising vision is truly difficult to shake. — JF

Tickets are available online through Ticketek, from the front desk at MTG or the box office at the Napier Municipal Theatre. Door sales will also be available at the MTG Century Theatre one hour prior to the screening.